More User Reviews:

The pour produces a two finger thick, foamy, creamy, but still fizzy, pale white head. Robust carbonation surges upwards. The body is amber-colored with a high level of clarity.

The aroma is heavily malty, bread-like, and pungent. There's a slight floral aroma, but it's mostly subdued. There's also a bit of graininess.

Orange flavor becomes more apparent, and is tasty, on the tongue. Sweet notes of caramel and honey, yeasty floral flavors, and the faintest notes of pepper all wander my palate.

Abbey Saison is creamy, but has a bit of a kick from some spice (the pepper I assume) and the yeast. It drinks sweetly with a faint tartness from citrus and has the slightest of booziness, although this bottle has been well-aged.

I think this beer has improved with age. I enjoyed it quite a bit. Maybe the best of the Ovila series.

Poured into a large tulip glass a clear burnt orange color with a thinner but well retained white head atop.Aromas consist of wet grain and orange peel with a tinge of mineral,there is a fain spiciness from the peppercorns detected.Flavors of spiced yeasty phenols and toasted grain stand out most on the palate up front along with juicy fruitiness and mild spice in the finish,not a big flavorful beer, more subtle nuances.Slightly medicinal and yeasty it's still not a bad beer,the black pepper will catch ya in the back of the throat after awhile, wich Iam starting to find out.

Presentation: It was poured from a very cool corked 12.7 oz bottle. The label has a brief description and lists the abv at 7.5% abv.

Appearance: The body has a nice amber color with a very slight haze. Carbonation is also lively and helps support the head. It’s head is creamy, off white in color and long lasting. Lacing coats the glass and slowly slides down the sides of the glass.

Smell: The aroma is full and inviting. It’s has nice fruity and yeasty notes. I get notes of clove, banana and fresh bread.

Taste / Palate: It’s flavor starts with light malt sweetness blended with fruity and bready yeast. I also pick up some light sweet orange notes. This quickly turns dryer as some dry yeasty spice notes and notes from the peppercorns move across the tongue. The finish adds a light touch of floral spice and mild bitterness. The palate feels smooth and creamy and it’s 7.5% abv is well hidden in its flavor profile.

12.7 oz cork and caged bottle at fridge temp poured into a snifter. Not sure of freshness, but no fresher than 8 months old.

Pours out a hazy orange color, not as big of a head as I might have expected for a Belgian, off white in color. Weak retention with no real lacing.

Lots of yeast character, perhaps of the French strain. Some citrus but not necessarily orange and hints of spice. Fairly basic.

Very similar to what the aroma indicates. French saison yeast which might add somewhat of a creamy quality, some citrus and spice but nothing telling me the extras that were added to this beer are actually there.

Medium body; with low but adequate carbonationSome wild yeast in the sweet aroma. Hints of honey and vanilla.Taste is similar to the nose but lightly peppery. Relatively gentle for style. M: medium body; proper carbonation. O: a refined and elegant saison.

Nice aroma of citrus with a little funk. Tart citrus flavor up front, some spicy pepper tones on the back end, very nice. Fairly thin and very creamy, as it was from the cask, but not bad for the style, good carbonation. Overall, was a very nice beer, I've had this from the bottle before, much better on cask at the brewery.

Poured a pretty cloudy orange with a white half finger head. It looks quite nice, like a saison should. Scents of peppercorn, mandarin orange and slight musky aromas. Good scents, but lacks the funk of some other saisons. Flavor contains notes of peppercorn and slight mandarin orange, some other citrus notes and a light cracker wheat flavor in the finish and aftertaste. Also some earthy Belgian yeast flavors. Slightly sweet, not as dry as other saisons tend to be. A good level of complexity, but the sour notes I look for in a saison are absent. A good flavor, but more sourness would make it far better. Mouthfeel is light bodied with moderate carbonation. Good, true to style. Overall it's a good saison, but far from the best available. The mandarin orange and a bit of the pepper are present, and some other flavors add to the complexity. But the lack of sour flavors and the sweet notes hold it back. Still worth trying, an enjoyable beer taken on it's own merits.

A: Pours a slightly hazy orangish amber with a thin slightly yellowed head. A bit too opaque to see much visible carbonation. Not really any lacing on the side of the glass.

S: A smooth blend of Belgian yeast, pale malts and a hint of orange fruitiness. Not an overwhelming flavor but an enticing one nonetheless. Hints of sweetness and alcohol.

T: First thing I notice is the malts and Belgian yeast. The mandarin orange comes powering through mid sip and takes over the flavor. Hints of peppercorn after swallowing but the focus seems to be on the yeast and orange. Good Belgian tone overall.

M: Medium body with ample carbonation. Fairly clean finish, just a bit of stickiness from the sweetness of the orange.

Overall this beer pulls in more orange flavor than most beers I've had. On the plus side it strays away from the fake orange taste that ruins some of the belgian style beers for me. Might grab a bottle to set down for a while.

many thanks to @sierrabrettp for this one- brought back from Chico last week. Poured from bottle into RR glass. Pours a crystal clear golden orange color- surprised to see this- was expecting a little more hazel Also very little head and next to zero retention. Effervescent bubbles stream up from the bottom of the glass. Smell- sweet bready candy sugar malt- I get the mandarin as advertised. Taste- a little bitterness (maybe from the pepper?) sweet orange fruitiness is next, leaves a lingering syrupy orange mandarin taste mixed with cracked pepper bitterness on the end. I was kinda hoping the carbonation would dry this up a little but, but it ends a bit sweet. This is a decent effort, far from "bad", but I prefer a much dryer saison. I liked the Ovila Saison base beer more.